VOGONS


First post, by cursedverses

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Hi Everyone!

I've recently advised a relative of which Laptop to buy, and he's showed me how he's kept all of his PCs since his first. A Philips PC (Model MT1200) with the original stickers on and everything! The specs show a Pentium 4 (HT) 530 running at 3GHz and an AMD Radeon 9250 (I think, and need to check if it's 64 bit or 128 bit bandwidth) and 2GB RAM (I think).

My plan is to repurpose this Windows XP machine as a Win98/DOS gaming machine. I suspect this means I'll be slowing the clock speed down and maybe disabling caches. Also, having watched a few Phil's Computer Lab videos (thanks Phil!) it's clear I may have to do some capacitor work before I do anything with it.

Has anyone had any experience with this particular PC and/or know anything more about its internals (chipset/AGP/PCI slots/etc.)? Web searches aren't returning much. Or any resource you can point me to?

Thanks!

Reply 1 of 10, by dormcat

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie

A Freeline MT1200? Philips didn't produce P4 motherboards of their own so it had to be an OEM MB from another MB manufacturer. You should be able to

  • At very least, check its I/O back panel;
  • Better yet, open the case and check its specs with your own eyes;
  • Power on the system (if it could) and check its POST string if possible;
  • And if the rig could bring you to the WinXP desktop you could install a diagnostic utility (CPU-Z, HWiNFO, etc.)

if you already have the access to its original stickers.

There are over a thousand models of MB that could possibly accept a P4-530HT and two strips of 1GB DDR-400 / PC3200. You have to narrow it down first.

The attachment MT1200_RAM.jpg is no longer available

Reply 2 of 10, by PC Hoarder Patrol

User metadata
Rank l33t
Rank
l33t
cursedverses wrote on 2024-09-24, 22:15:
Hi Everyone! […]
Show full quote

Hi Everyone!

I've recently advised a relative of which Laptop to buy, and he's showed me how he's kept all of his PCs since his first. A Philips PC (Model MT1200) with the original stickers on and everything! The specs show a Pentium 4 (HT) 530 running at 3GHz and an AMD Radeon 9250 (I think, and need to check if it's 64 bit or 128 bit bandwidth) and 2GB RAM (I think).

My plan is to repurpose this Windows XP machine as a Win98/DOS gaming machine. I suspect this means I'll be slowing the clock speed down and maybe disabling caches. Also, having watched a few Phil's Computer Lab videos (thanks Phil!) it's clear I may have to do some capacitor work before I do anything with it.

Has anyone had any experience with this particular PC and/or know anything more about its internals (chipset/AGP/PCI slots/etc.)? Web searches aren't returning much. Or any resource you can point me to?

Thanks!

Closest I can find is this...

The attachment Philips MT1200.png is no longer available

Specification

Processor: Intel P4P 3.0GHz (800/1M)
Memory: 512MB DDR (400MHz)
HDD: 160GB EIDE (7200RPM)
Motherboard: SF2-M7
DVDRW 16x
Integrated Video: ATi 9250SE-128MB
Wireless LAN: Q-Com 802.11g
Integrated Network: Realtek 8139 10/100
Integrated Modem: C-Com 56K V.92 PCI
PSU: ATX 300W
7-in-1 Media Card Reader
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition (pre-installed)

Included Accessories and Software

Wireless Keyboard and Mouse
Desktop Powered Speakers
Wireless Antenna
Power Cable
Modem Cable
VGA-DVI Adapter
Microsoft Works 8.5
Set Up Guide for MS Windows XP Home Edition

Seems to have similar internals to the Advent T9003 (a Currys / Dixons group brand in the UK) - http://www.uktsupport.co.uk/advent/pc/t9003.htm - and the listed SF2-M7 motherboard is this one

https://theretroweb.com/motherboards/s/ecs-661fx-m7

Reply 3 of 10, by dormcat

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
PC Hoarder Patrol wrote on 2024-09-25, 01:50:

Closest I can find is this...

Wow you've nailed it. 👏 I found additional items at eBay and Newegg thanks to your info.

So the video card is a PowerColor Radeon 9250 128MB with 64-bit memory bandwidth. Should be good enough for most but the most demanding late Win9x games.

Reply 4 of 10, by cursedverses

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

@PC Hoarder Patrol - wow! Thank you so much! I did wonder if this particular PC was a Dixon's special back in the day from when my relative first bought it.

@dormcat thanks for the advice here and what I can be expected to do with the PC - I'm picking the PC up at the weekend and wanted to have a idea of what work is going to be needed on it. I have an idea now!

Thanks again!

Reply 5 of 10, by cursedverses

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Well, this turned out to be interesting: the inherited PC contained:

- An SB Live! (CT4760)
- An Inno3D 7300GT card
- A Wireless LAN card (g)
- No RAM(!)
- A Pentium 4 3.6GHz card

So, I know this was bought from PC World/DSG group and the previous user has no upgrade experience. I'm guessing they bought various upgrades in-store when it was built.

Furthermore, no capacitor plague on the motherboard and components, I'm still to test the PSU.

Pictures for any who may stumble on this same machine attached.

This is going to make a serious DOS/Win98 gaming rig and some occasional XP gaming too!

Reply 6 of 10, by dormcat

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
cursedverses wrote on 2024-10-20, 17:36:

This is going to make a serious DOS/Win98 gaming rig and some occasional XP gaming too!

Although SB Live! CT4760 is a nice sound card (yours even has the exact same batch number as mine: "029931" means PCB revision 02, year 1999, week 31), it is not exactly the most suitable sound card for DOS gaming. Furthermore, 7300 GT has no official Win9x driver (not sure if a modded driver of 6 series can be used).

Reply 7 of 10, by cursedverses

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Yeah, I've just found that these are better for Windows XP. I have some memory on order and a new CPU cooler - one of the retaining pins has a clean break and signs of superglue(!).

I do have an MX440 floating around that may suit Windows 98 better, so I'll make sure I can get the system up and running first, then experiment with a few cards. I'll have to research PCI cards and DOS.
It's a shame it's too late a computer for an ISA card - I still have my Orpheus I soundcard.

Reply 8 of 10, by cursedverses

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

Also, my camera's AI can't deal with how small the writing on the P4 is! It's a 3GHz chip with 800MHz bus clock.

Reply 9 of 10, by dormcat

User metadata
Rank Oldbie
Rank
Oldbie
cursedverses wrote on 2024-10-20, 20:27:

Also, my camera's AI can't deal with how small the writing on the P4 is! It's a 3GHz chip with 800MHz bus clock.

When taking photos of laser-engraved text on chips, it's better to have an oblique light source (i.e. from sideways) to enhance shadows. Compare the texts on two chips ("D720201" and "cFeon"):

The attachment desk_lamp.jpg is no longer available
The attachment smartphone_flash.jpg is no longer available
The attachment oblique.jpg is no longer available

Reply 10 of 10, by cursedverses

User metadata
Rank Newbie
Rank
Newbie

I'll bear this in mind, thanks!